Attack on Coldrock Quarry
Tuskarr mined stone from the Coldrock Quarry to craft artifacts and statues, which were required for the last rites of the fallen tuskarr brethren. For reasons unknown, Malygos the Spellweaver seemed interested in these artifacts. So he ordered the mage hunters and beryl hounds with Curator Insivius in charge to attack Coldrock Quarry. The mage hunters arrived at Coldrock Quarry with floating blue platforms and attacked the quarry and slaughtered any tuskarr that came in their path. Some escaped the mage hunters. One of them was Etaruk. Etaruk assaulted the mage hunters and destroyed their floating platforms to stop them from retreating. At the end Etaruk with remaining tuskarr killed Curator Insivius to end the threat of the mage hunters to the quarry. Then Etaruk helped the spirits of murdered tuskarr to find peace and performed sacred ritual to lead the ancestors to the spirit world. Attack on Coldrock Quarry Coldrock Quarry was a place from which the Tuskarr mined stone to make artifacts and to craft large statues of their ancestors. Etaruk was one of the craftsmen. One day he was crafting new set of statues with companions, when he saw the mysterious blue platforms flying over the quarry. As a precaution, Etaruk alerted all his companions and as many Tuskar as he can and quickly ran away from the place. Mage hunters landed from the platforms and they killed every Tuskarr they saw and started plundering their artifacts. The artifacts and the statues were heritage of their his ancestors and he cannot let the mage hunters make off with them, so Etaruk made his mind to retake the quarry. Etaruk rallied all the survivors and entered the quarry killing as many Beryl Treasure Hunters as they could. After their assault, the Tuskarr had sent a clear message to the hunters that they will not yield the quarry easily. Word soon reached to Etaruk from Kaskala that Kaskala was attacked and could not help them. Hampering Escape The resistance shown by the Tuskarr made the mage hunters aware that the quarry was not safe enough and thought to leave it. But before going away the hunters were taking with them as many artifacts as possible. Etaruk knew that the mage hunters would use the blue platforms to escape. He quietly sent out Tuskarr to steal explosives from gnomes digging in the quarry. After the Tuskarr returned from the quarry, Etaruk used the explosives to blow three hovering platform. Due to the platforms being destroyed, the mage hunters had no way to escape and were left no choice but to fight the Tuskarr. Slaying the Curator The mage hunters were in low morale, but continued digging and collecting the artifacts. Their ruthless leader Curator Insivius watched over them work and punished any who tried to run. The Tuskarr had hunted beasts of seas and lands for countless generations but never had they faced anything like the Curator. Insivius watched over the operation from the platform on the upper rim of the quarry. Etaruk and his companions assaulted the quarry. After much effort and the cost of many Tuskarr lives, the Tuskarr were successful in killing Curator Insivius. After the death of their leader, the mage hunters ran away from the quarry. The hunters had entered the quarry in large numbers thinking that it would be an easy target, but only small number of them escaped knowing that the Tuskarr were not to be underestimated. Honouring the Ancestors After driving off the mage hunters, the Tuskarr continued their unfinished work of crafting artifacts. As Etaruk passed by a stone statue, one day after work, a distant voice echoed in his head. Etaruk recognized that the sound was coming from a stone statue. The voice told Etaruk not to be afraid and the voice was of Elder Atkanok, who was an ancestor of the tuskarr people. Elder Atkanok was a skilled craftsman in his own right and had been the guardian of the Coldrock Quarry for centuries before passing away. Atkanok told Etaruk that when the quarry was overrun by the mage hunters, many statues were left unfinished. Due to this the ancestors' spirits wander the mortal world. Atkanok requested Etaruk to help him give peace to the spirits. Etaruk accepted. Elder Atkanok gave Etaruk his first task, which was finding the names of the wandering ancestors. Atkanok hinted Etaruk to look at the markers near the statues to find their names. Etaruk identified the names of the Elders from the stone statues to be Elder Kesuk, Edler Sagani and Elder Takret. Etaruk returned to the statue of Atkanok. Elder Atkanok greeted Etaruk and thanked him for identifying the elders' names. Finally they could continue the ceremony which would lead the spirits to their stones. But there was one obstacle, the spirits of the elders would never be at peace witnessing the brutal slaughter of their people. So Atkanok told Etaruk that they must first calm the spirits of the murdered craftsmen and shaman. Lost Spirits The mage hunters had ran away, but they left the beryl hounds behind as an act of revenge against the tuskarr. The beryl hunters sensed the spirits of the murdered craftsmen and have taken the spirits as slaves. Atkanok requested Etaruk to gather the tuskarr and kill the beryl hounds. Then use the raw energy left behind by the corpses of beryl hounds to break the imprisonment of the spirits. Etaruk did as he was asked and the spirits were free from the clutches of beryl hounds and returned to the spirit world. When Etaruk returned, Atkanok told him that he was sensing that the spirit world was becoming stable at last. Now they would be able to lead the ancestors to their statues. Gathering Artifacts Atkanok told Etaruk that he was no shaman to perform the rituals, but he would have to do. But he should require all the proper materials required for the rituals. The tuskarr use some artifacts for last rites. But there was no time to make another one, so Etaruk was suppossed to find the artifacts that were missing or stolen during the attack on quarry. Elder Atkanok warned Etaruk to handle the artifacts with care for some artifacts were centuries old. Etaruk collected the artifacts and brought them back to Elder Atkanok's statue. Atkanok inspected the artifacts and told Etaruk that they would suffice. Leading the Ancestors Home The Coldrock quarry was safe from the mage hunters and hounds. The spirits of murdered shaman and craftsmen were also at peace and the materials required for the ritual were also collected. Just one final task remained for Etaruk and Atkanok which was to lead the spirits of the ancestors home. Elder Atkanok guided Etaruk to go to the particular statues of the ancestors and recite the chant. Etaruk declined as he didn’t know the required. Atkanok using his ancient powers transferred the words to Etaruk’s head. Etaruk had no difficulty remembering the chants. Etaruk went to the statues and recited the prayers which led the ancestors to the spirit world. Atkanok thanked Etaruk and stated that the craftsmen would once again restore the quarry to its previous state and the line of ancestors will continue. Category:Wrath of the Lich King Category:Borean Tundra